


you’re just troubled

by articheart



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 1am endeavors, Alternate Universe - High School, Coming of Age, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Mentions of drinking but hyuck is of age here, Underage Smoking, i guess, theyre both a lil dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-22 23:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19139413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/articheart/pseuds/articheart
Summary: It had started about two months ago. Donghyuck comes over throughout the week, always at closing time or even later, and they just hang out. Sometimes Donghyuck smokes, sometimes they both do, and that’s it. Tonight, however, it seems like he’s been drinking — which is unusual, but not unheard of. He smells of ash and liquor, the fruity and sweet kind that makes your mouth tingle, and his characteristic grin is lopsided.





	you’re just troubled

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i havent posted anything in ages and im so sorry but here! have this! i wrote it in a week and didn’t proofread as usual 
> 
> find me on twitter at renjunsaturno

It’s almost 11:30pm, just half an hour before the diner’s closing time and Chenle is wiping the already clean counter with a rag for the nth time when a boy with silver hair walks in; red-eyed and with a half-burned cigarette in hand like most of the city’s teenagers these days. Except Chenle knows him. It’s Lee Donghyuck, a senior he rarely ever sees in school as they don’t share any classes, but they’re used to meeting like this by now. It had started about two months ago. Donghyuck comes over throughout the week, always at closing time or even later, and they just hang out. Sometimes Donghyuck smokes, sometimes they both do, and that’s it. Tonight, however, it seems like he’s been drinking — which is unusual, but not unheard of. He smells of ash and liquor, the fruity and sweet kind that makes your mouth tingle, and his characteristic grin is lopsided. 

In lieu of a greeting, Donghyuck goes straight to the jukebox tucked into a corner of the establishment, taps a few buttons a pops a coin into the opening. He turns around with his eyebrows raised compellingly and Chenle can only watch as he moves towards the center of the room. The starting chords of _I Think We’re Alone Now_ by Tiffany begin to play and the senior’s grin widens. He bangs his head to the beat and twists his whole body, stumbling around the cushioned seats. 

“What are you doing.” Chenle inquires with his arms crossed, shaking his head.

Donghyuck doesn’t bother replying. Instead, he works his way up one of the polished wooden tables, almost falling off a few times because of his alcohol tainted balance, and stands victoriously at last. There, he starts to dance more energetically, mouthing along to the lyrics.

“Get down, you fool! You’ll hurt yourself!” Chenle shrieks, sliding away from the counter and closer to the table with his arms extended as if ready to catch the other. 

“Oh, come on Lele. Won’t you help me feel a little less miserable?” The boy says with a twirl. “Get up here.” 

His eyeliner is slightly smudged and he looks like he wouldn’t be able to walk in a straight line if his life depended on it, but his speech isn’t slurred at all. Chenle mentally gives it up to him for his perfect communication skills, even when bordering on wasted. Donghyuck doesn’t seem to want to get down anytime soon, so Chenle, as the responsible employee he is, remembers to close all the blinds before joining him on the table. Hyuck takes both his hands, not before tucking his spent filter back into the cigarette pack, and they go around in circles like little kids. Moving at such speed tickles their stomachs and makes them both giggle wildly until the song comes to an end, the last few verses echoing around the empty diner. Their mood burns out quick, both left feeling a little astounded as one does after doing something out of impulse and realizing the pointlessness of it all. “Did that help?” Chenle raises his eyebrows.

“Meh.” is the reply he gets, combined with a loose shrug which isn’t much of a reply at all. If anything, his grin looks a little less vicious. “Let’s go outside.”

Chenle guides him out of the diner holding onto his elbows — not that he really needs it, but out of principle —, drops him off on the sidewalk and goes back inside for a moment to turn off the lights. In the meantime, the silver haired fumbles with his lighter to get another cigarette lit up.

“Wanna hit?” rasps Donghyuck, offering him the tube the minute he settles beside him on the ground.

Chenle drags his gaze to the sky, dark and clear — not that starts would ever be visible in the middle of the city —, then cards his hands through his own hair and takes a single drag from the filter that is still in between Donghyuck’s fingers. The older taps his foot to the concrete in a frenzy rhythm and had it been anyone else Chenle would’ve ruled it off as a nicotine tick, but this is Hyuck. None of his mannerisms are unintentional.

“What’s wrong with you? Is it Yukhei?” The name makes Donghyuck’s eyes widen a little, a bit similar to what every child looks like right before getting scolded by a parent. 

“Yeah, I guess. He says he isn’t sure of where our relationship stands, and that he needs more time to think.” 

Chenle’s relaxed expression hardens into a scowl. Yukhei is Donghyuck’s college on-and-off boyfriend, and situations like this are somewhat common between them. He isn’t quite sure of why they’ve been together for so long, since they fight so much and never seem to actually _be together_ like a couple would, and brashly presents his point whenever they get to the subject but Hyuck just dismisses him with a chuckle every time.

“You know how I feel about all that.” Chenle shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant.

Donghyuck smiles and shakes his head, taking a long drag. “Enough about him, then. How are you?”

The blond snorts. “Fine. Work was boring until you showed up acting like a maniac.”

“It’s my job to make your day interesting.” He shoots back, drawing out the words.

“Sure is.” Chenle hums and takes the barely burned cigarette from the other’s hand, laying back flat on the chilly concrete. Donghyuck follows with a soft sigh, wrapping his jacket tighter around his body. 

“Young man, this is your last year. What are your top choices for college?” Chenle fakes a terrible british accent, using his hands to articulate.

“Oh my God, you’re the worst,” Donghyuck shrills and slaps his chest lightly. “Fuck that. Ask me about my favorite color or something.”

“What’s your favorite color.”

“Pink. What’s yours?”

“Uh, green? I don’t know.”

A car passes by honking wildly and it throws Donghyuck into a short laughing fit for a reason unknown to Chenle’s sober mind. 

“You should dye your hair.” The silver haired suggests after a second of pondering silence. “I could do it for you.”

“Right now?” Chenle mumbles back quickly before giving it a second thought.

“What? Not _now!_ Jesus — and I’m the drunk one.” 

The blond laughs. “Okay, sure.”

“Wait, really?”

“Hell yeah. I’ve always wanted purple hair.”

“Let’s do lilac though.” He shoots Chenle a pointed look. “Bright purple would look nasty.”

Chenle agrees, though he doesn’t know enough about hairstyling to offer an honest opinion, and offers him a drag.

“Got any siblings?” Donghyuck asks after exhaling.

“Yeah. An older step-brother. You?”

“None. What’s your brother’s name?”

“Kun. So, only-child privileges, huh?”

“Kinda. I wish I had siblings though. Must be fun.” The older laughs and it sounds hollow. Something shifts in Donghyuck’s voice and Chenle figures it’s best to leave it alone.

“I guess.”

They fall into a brief silence until the cigarette burns out completely and Chenle puts it out on the sidewalk. Donghyuck turns his head to look at him and just lets his gaze linger for a few seconds. 

“Do _you_ know what you’re gonna do in college?” Donghyuck seems decided not to let the conversation die.

Chenle huffs amusedly, turning his head towards the other as well and raising an eyebrow. “What is this? 21 questions?”

The other rolls his eyes, with no real sting to it. “Just answer the question, Chenle.”

“No idea.” The blond smacks his lips soundly. They’re rough at the edges and he recalls Donghyuck telling him time and time again to get some chapstick. He makes a mental note to do that some time later in the week. “I’d like to stay here, though. Moving states sounds like a bummer.”

“Really? I’d like to leave, I think. Go somewhere warmer.”

“Wouldn’t that be too far from Yukhei, though?” Chenle chirps, just for the sake of it.

Donghyuck, however, sounds annoyed when he spits out: “I thought we were done talking about Yukhei?” And then adds, so quietly Chenle would have missed it were he not focused on the other’s voice. “I’m gonna break up with him. For real, this time.”

“Yeah, you say that every time.” He draws out mockingly and instantly regrets it. The words are spilling from his mouth before he can even think and he _knows_ he has no reason to be that mean but it’s just so hard to stop himself. He internally flinches when Donghyuck parts his lips to let out a sharp, wounded sound.

“Fuck you, dude. Why are you being such a dick?”

Chenle has no answer to that. He fixes his gaze upwards, hoping to be swallowed whole by the ground, and remains quiet. Donghyuck is tense and imposing like a ticking bomb next to him. The silence grows thicker. Donghyuck is really good at this, he thinks. Projecting his hurt in the space between them, so much Chenle feels it at the base of his throat threatening to choke him up.

“Sorry.” He breaks. Swallows the embarrassment and his pride goes down too. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Yeah. I know.” The senior hums. Feels around for Chenle’s hand and squeezes it softly with a sigh that carries much more than what’s fitting for the occasion. The gesture patches them back up. It’s tender forgiveness and Chenle latches onto it like a lifeline. “I think I’m gonna go home now.”

“I can drive you.” The younger replies a little too quickly. 

“Sure. Just don’t forget to lock the diner.”

The ride is uneventful. It’s past 1am and Donghyuck mumbles along to the Katy Perry song playing on the radio, tapping his fingers to the rhythm on the armrest and letting the wind hit his cheeks in full force. This time, the lack of talking isn’t nearly as charged and they bask in the very specific feeling of driving around at night in deserted streets with the windows rolled down completely. 

When they stop in Donghyuck’s driveway, he doesn’t get out of the car immediately. “Thanks,” he says, but makes no effort to open the door and pulls at the hem of his shirt rather awkwardly. 

“You alright?” Chenle scratches the back of his head, not sure of what to do with himself.

“Yeah. I just— Uhm.” Hyuck starts, stops in the middle of the sentence, looks at Chenle, then at his own feet and back at Chenle. The blond blinks at him, alarmed, and gestures for him to finish. Instead, Donghyuck lunges forward and pecks him on the cheek, missing the corner of his mouth by millimeters then all but storms out of the vehicle with a half-whisper Chenle doesn’t quite catch, but it sounds a lot like another ‘thank you’. His slow-paced run is wobbly and full of stumbles but theatrical nonetheless, in true Donghyuck fashion. Chenle feels his face burn red before the other even reaches the front door. 

 

—

 

It takes two weeks for them to meet at the diner again.

Chenle, after sulking around and then coming to terms with the fact Donghyuck was probably avoiding him, nearly chokes on air when he walks through the glass doors — hair freshly dyed a vibrant red and a plastic bag from the convenience store right down the street hanging from his arm.

“Oh, hi.” Chenle manages to say after a hot second of exasperation.

Donghyuck greets him with a wave of his hand and a bright, sharp smile slices through his face. “Let’s go. We’re dyeing your hair tonight.”

Roughly forty minutes later Chenle finds himself sitting in the middle of Donghyuck’s bathroom on a swivel chair, running his mouth on curses as the bleach on his head makes his scalp itch.

“Oh my God, you’re such a baby.” Donghyuck has the audacity to laugh, looking devilish at him through the mirror “And you’re so lucky your hair is light already. I usually have to do at least two rounds of bleaching.”

Chenle lips drop open. “ _Twice?_ You go through this very intricate method of modern torture twice?” 

“Yeah. Sometimes more.” He grabs his shoulders to turn him slightly to the side, trying to see how the front part of his hair is coming along, then hums in approval. “You’re so dramatic. We’re almost done here.”

Chenle rinses his head under the shower stream — it feels like heaven — and dries the excess water with a towel while Donghyuck assembles the materials on the sink: plastic gloves, a hand towel, a brush, some very intimidating hair clips and a bowl with the dye already mixed and ready inside. The color is a lavender tone that almost shines under the harsh lighting and Chenle decides he likes it very much.

“That’s so nice. The color is just like what we talked about the other day.” He says with a nod.

Donghyuck makes a sound from his throat. “By the way, sorry for ghosting on you like that.” He starts, then pauses, but it sounds like he has more to say so Chenle indulges him.

“Yeah,” he chuckles and it sounds weird to his own ears. “Where’d you go?” 

The red haired picks up the bowl and the brush before answering, likely just to make his hands busy as Chenle suspects, and begins to carefully apply the dye starting from the roots. “I took a bus upstate. All the way to Yukhei’s university.”

At that, Chenle gulps. There’s static in the air and Donghyuck must feel it too because he moves away to grab a clip and separate a colored chunk of hair from the rest before continuing. Lower, he adds: “We talked, sorted things out, and now we’re over. We’re really over.” He shoots Chenle a pointed look through the mirror. He doesn’t take the bait and holds his gaze quietly.

“Oh.” the younger speaks after a few beats of silence. And then adds in a sudden rush of urgency. “What about the other week? You didn’t show up either.”

Donghyuck takes yet another strand of hair to color and his lips stretch into a tense line. “Well, that was me trying to build up the courage to talk to you again after being a complete fuck-up.” Chenle tries to meet his eyes again but Hyuck won’t raise his head up. “I’m sorry for trying to kiss you. I was drunk and I hope it doesn’t affect—”

“Why are you sorry?” Chenle cuts him off halfway through the sentence.

“Huh?”

“Why are you sorry?” his tone rises a bit, bordering on strident and he fixes it before continuing. “Maybe I wanted it too.”

Donghyuck freezes, but only for half a second. Then he’s back at it with the dye, as thorough as ever, a little past the middle of the other’s head. He mumbles hushedly as if trying to get the words out quick enough. “Are you serious? Chenle, don’t fuck with me.”

“I’m serious! I wanted it, and I hope you did, too.” Chenle huffs, and resumes speaking a bit slower, like he doesn’t really want to end the sentence. “I get it if it was just a in-the-moment kind of thing, though. It’s fine.”

A few more seconds of dead silence until the stale mood breaks completely. 

“My God,” Donghyuck bursts out laughing, dumbfounded, and his eyes light up. “We’re both disasters. I wanted to kiss you, for real.”

Chenle can’t help but let a chuckle out too. “I guess we are. Come here. Come closer.”

“I can’t. If I stop now, you’ll look a mess.”

“I don’t care. You can fix my hair later. Just come here.”

Donghyuck sighs but does so anyway, going around the chair to drop his tools on the sink and crouch down to stand at Chenle’s level. Chenle cups his jaw in his hands and strokes Donghyuck’s flushed cheeks with his thumb.

“Are you drunk now?” He asks, and they’re so close Hyuck can feel the other’s breath fanning over his face. He shakes his head on a negative, wide-eyed and anticipating. “Great. Can I kiss you?”

“Please do.” 

And then Chenle pulls him closer and seals their lips together. Donghyuck’s mouth is soft against his and he moves his left hand to the back of his neck, scratching the thin hairs on his nape. The older still has his dirty gloves on so he settles for tilting his head, following Chenle’s movement. When they pull back, Donghyuck chases after Chenle’s mouth with a gasp and it sends them into a fit of giggles, before sending them into another kiss. 

When they finally stop, it’s like both of their mouths have gone numb. Chenle feels like there are fireworks going off inside his chest cavity, and it takes some work to wipe the dumb grin off his face. Donghyuck is the same, although with cheeks a little rosier. 

“Wow.” Chenle enunciates, the pinnacle of well-spoken.

Donghyuck downright cackles at that. “That’s all you have to say?”

“Yeah. You just—Wow.” 

“I know.” He sounds annoyingly smug, in a cute way, even though Chenle can’t see his face clearly since he’s back at standing upright behind him, focused on the dye job. He nods to himself and adds like an afterthought: “You’ve been wearing chapstick.”

Chenle huffs in amused disbelief, finally getting back to his senses. “Yeah, ‘cause you told me to. And _that’s_ what’s on your mind right now? After all that?”

“I mean, how could I not notice? Your lips feel really nice.”

“Thanks!” It's the younger’s turn to look smug. Donghyuck scoffs, though he’s smiling, and gives him the finger through the mirror.

“Whatever. Now, let’s try and salvage this.” He says, picking up the dye brush. 

“Do your worst.” Chenle throws the words at him like a challenge. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, paying him no mind, and gets back to it. 

 

—

 

In the end, Chenle’s hair turns out just fine. The back of his neck is stained purple for weeks after but his head ends up looking like one big chunk of cotton candy and that’s all anyone needs, really.

The next time they get together to hang out at the diner, Donghyuck greets him with a kiss, comforting and sweet but still a little ravenous like everything has always been between them. The rest is history.

**Author's Note:**

> don’t really have a specific person to dedicate this to, so let me just say thank you to all my twitter mutuals who support me 🥰🥰🥰🥰


End file.
